


Precious Cargo

by ninjawrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Baby Keith (Voltron), Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Team as Family, prepare for cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-24 08:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19719649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjawrites/pseuds/ninjawrites
Summary: Hunk and Keith are on a research mission when Keith encounters a tear in space time. Now, along with defending the universe, the paladins have another duty thrust upon them: babysitting duty.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this pic of [ Baby Keef](https://knittyninja.tumblr.com/post/185993406913/bibisarts-baby-keith-and-mice) by bibisarts on tumblr.

“Hey Keith, you see anything?”

Hunk waited for Keith’s response, but there was only silence. He looked around the field they had been hiking through, where the tall blue grass rustled in the wind. Despite seeing him only thirty seconds before, Keith was nowhere to be found.

“Keith?” Hunk called as he walked through the field, Suddenly, he startled himself as his foot knocked against something hard, hidden beneath the tall grass. As he bent down, he noticed the bright red markings of the paladin boot.

“Keith!” Hunk instantly snapped into protective mode, bending down and pushing aside the wheat-like plants, expecting Keith to be passed out on the ground. His mind raced with alternate possibilities, but when he laid his eyes on the scene before him, it was more confusing than frightening. 

Keith’s paladin armor lay limp on the ground, but Keith himself was nowhere to be seen. It looked as though he had stripped himself of it and run off, including the under-armor body suit.

“What the quiznack?” Hunk mumbled, glancing around for a moment before turning back to the abandoned clothing. Why would Keith-

Hunk squeaked when his eyes caught on to subtle movement in a lump beneath the fabric. He tensed, everything in his body telling him not to get closer, until the movement continued, shifting the fabric to reveal a tiny pale foot.

With a gasp, he felt to his knees and pulled the fabric aside to find a tiny, and rather squishy, baby wriggling in front of him.

A human baby.

“Oh my-“ Hunk’s hands hovered over the child, unsure of what to do. His first instinct was to take off his chest plates, gauntlets and gloves, which would make it difficult to hold the child without hurting them. As he placed them down, he remembered whose suit he was sitting on. Hunk’s eyes went wide while his brain belatedly connected the dots.

“Keith!” Hunk lifted the baby gently into his arms as he wiggled, the thick black head of hair now unmistakable. “Oh no you’re...you’re a baby! What happened to you? How long have you been like this?” Baby Keith merely stared at him with wide indigo eyes, gnawing on his pudgy little fist now covered in drool. He didn’t seem fearful in the slightest, as if the yellow paladin was just another friendly face.

“Hunk, Keith, sound off.”

“Shiro!” Hunk shouted into the coms. 

“Hunk! Is something wrong? Are you two in danger?”

“We’re fine...” Hunk could hear Shiro’s relief on the other end, though he knew it would be short-lived. “Well kinda. I’m calling off the research mission. Me and Keith are coming back up, stat.” He turned off his com, not ready to answer any of the questions about his undoubtedly strange behavior. He glanced down at Keith, grabbing the red paladin’s under-armor to use as a swaddle.

“Oh man, Keith. What are we going to do?”

* * *

When it was only Hunk who stepped off the pod, each of the paladins hearts dropped.

“Hunk, what happened? Where’s Keith?” Shiro stepped forward, his eyes searching the inside of the Altean pod they were using for the mission. He furrowed his brows when he saw it was empty. “You said he was with you.”

“Um...well...I didn’t lie...”

It was then that Shiro noticed Hunk carrying a bundle in his arms; on second glance he realized it was the under-armor they wore under their suits. Confusion settled on Shiro’s face as Hunk shifted the bundle forward, until a soft squishy face turned up to look at him.

Keith’s face, unmistakeably, though 17 years younger.

There was a collective gasp as the rest of the group dashed forward. Pidge clasped onto Hunk’s arm and lifted herself on her toes for a better look.

At the sudden influx of people Keith’s eyes widened. Then they began to water, his mouth opening with a sharp cry.

“Sssh, Keith it’s okay.” Hunk cradled the baby closer to his chest, turning his body away from the rest of the group. “Guys you’re crowding him!”

All except Shiro took a step back, their faces heavy with guilt.

“How did this happen?” Allura asked.

“I don’t know, he...” Hunk bounced Keith gently in an attempt to soothe him. “He was fine one moment, then I turned around and found him like this! It’s like he just…shrunk!”

“De-aged to be exact.” Coran piped up.

“Wait, you’ve seen this before?!” Lance crossed his arms and turned to Coran, skeptical.

“Well, never in person, but I came across the condition during my studies as a young lad.”

“Do you know how to cure it?” Pidge asked.

“I...well you see... I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple...”

Keith’s cries suddenly lifted in volume, his face scrunching up as Hunks expression turned frantic. “Uh guy’s, I don’t think this my technique is working anymore!”

Shiro instinctively reached out towards Keith. Hunk, desperate to try anything, handed him over gently. Keith’s eyes opened, continuing to cry though curious as to what was happening. Shiro took him and cradled him close to his chest, laying his tiny head in the crook of his shoulder. Keith’s tiny hands gripped his vest, fingers curling in tight as Shiro began to bounce and rock him from side to side. 

Then the crying began to fade.

“He’s a baby whisperer.” Hunk whispered, his eyes shining like stars.

“I think he’s just the Keith whisperer...” Lance grumbled.

“Coran what do you mean by not that simple?” Shiro narrowed his eyes towards the older man.

Coran cleared his throat. “While I can tell you the condition is definitely temporary...there is no direct cure except to wait until he changes back.”

“What! Oh no. No, no, no, I am not dealing with a mini-mullet screaming his head off in the middle of the night.” Lance pointed to himself. “I need my beauty sleep!”

“How could this have happened?” Allura asked.

“I’m afraid Number Four here has found a temporal fissure, a crack in space-time. They are rare and almost statistically impossible to encounter, but walking through one is the only explanation for this condition. I will research as much additional information as possible via the Castle databases, but if I recall, the effect should wear off within a phoebe.”

Keith hiccuped, and Shiro pat him gently on the back.

“A month!” Hunk exclaimed.

“At maximum.”

Shiro’s expression was unreadable, his brows pinched in thought. Keith somehow managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was as if luck had a personal grudge on him, as it had for his entire life. 

However, as Shiro held him tighter against his chest, he realized maybe Keith wasn’t so unlucky, as no one would care for his well being as much as his team, his family, right here.

“So we’ll wait.” Shiro spoke, the paladins turning their attention to their leader. “We’ll lay low, stay cloaked and out of the way of the Galra unless absolutely necessary. Until Keith is back to normal, we all have to work together to keep him safe, got it?”

All heads in the room nodded. This was going to be tough, keeping out of trouble and taking care of a baby at the same time but it was something each of them were willing to do in a heartbeat.

“Alright.” Hunk clapped his hands together. “Now that that’s done with, there was something I was freaking out on the ship about, thankfully nothing happened but...does anybody know if the Castle has diapers?”

* * *

Lance made quick work of the diaper change, securing the waistband of the diaper and sitting back with a proud smile. “Tada!”

“Wow, you’re certainly good at that.” Pidge said, kneeling beside him on the blanket they had set out in the lounge.

“I’ve changed so many of my nieces and nephews diapers I could do it with my eyes closed.” Lance framed his chin with a proud grin.

Pidge snapped a photo with her phone.

“Hey!” Lance gawked, slightly blinded by the flash. Below him, a bubbly giggle erupted from Keith, who had a firm grip on his own two feet while they kicked in the air.

“Aww is Lance funny?” Pidge cooed, earning another giggle. Lance pouted.

“Oh no, there is going to be no evidence of me changing Keith’s diaper!” Lance reached to grab the phone from Pidge’s hand. She yelped as he climbed on top of her, pushing his face away with her palm.

“Aw come on this is priceless!” Pidge said, kicking Lance off. “Isn’t it Keef?” She put her finger out towards the baby, who grabbed it and started to pull it towards his gummy mouth. She watched, intrigued by the way he gnawed on everything he could get his hands on. She hadn’t been around many children before, never really considered herself a ‘baby person.’ “How old do you think he is?” She asked.

“I’m guessing around six months.” Lance looked down at Keith, smiling and having fun with Pidge’s finger. Half of him still hadn’t fully processed that this was actually Keith, his buddy, his rival. The moping mullet he was used to was so far off with the smiling adorable baby in front of him. He felt a strange pain in his heart. Apparently Pidge noticed.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, he just looks so...happy.” 

“He’s a baby.” 

“Yeah, I know but…” Lance bit his lip in thought, not fully intending to blurt his next words. “You know his mom left him right?”

Pidge nodded. “I know vaguely but, he’s never really talked about it with me.”

“Me neither, but from I’ve gathered...he was really, really young...” Lance paused, brushing his fingers through the dark strands of hair on the baby’s forehead. “Who could leave their child like this?”

Pidge looked down at Keith and bit her lip, processing. “Someone who had no other choice.” She mumbled.

Keith looked between them, aware of the sudden change in the atmosphere. Lance noticed.

“Hey where’s that happy face I saw a minute ago?” Lance chimed. He leaned forward slowly, lifting his fingers high before bringing them down to tickle Keith’s tiny round tummy. He squealed, the bubbly baby laughter echoing off the walls.

“I see you’ve found his weakness.” Shiro said as he walked into the room alongside Allura. Hunk followed behind carrying a stack of cloths, blankets and various baby clothes.

“We’ve set up the castle nursery for him. There is a crib and a sound machine so he should be very comfortable.” Allura said.

“And look guys! I found all these cute little baby clothes!” He set down the stack on the couch and lifted up a little red Altean onesie to show them.

“Wait, he’s going to sleep there alone?” Lance asked.

Pidge quirked an eyebrow. “Weren’t you worried about ‘mini-mullet ruining your beauty sleep.’” She said, using air quotes. He shot her a glare.

“There’s a baby monitor too,” Shiro said, “and we’ll be on a rotation schedule for feedings and other things, so there’s no need to worry Lance.” He gave a comforting smile, which Lance mirrored as he relaxed.

Allura walked carefully around the couch, kneeling besides baby Keith on the floor. She reached her hands out slightly, hesitant to touch as though she could break him. Lance lifted him under the arms, setting him down on his butt and holding him upright so that Keith could face her.

“It’s alright, he won’t bite.” Shiro laughed slightly, putting the princess at ease. 

“If he did he would’ve bitten Lance already.” Pidge mumbled.

“Hey!”

“Are all human babies this visually adorable?” She reached her finger forward to brush his cheeks, and her face lit up. “And this soft?!”

“It depends on the baby, but yeah, pretty much.” 

Lance reached a hand out to Hunk, keeping Keith stable with his other. “Bro, hand me the onesie.”

“You got it.” Hunk replied, tossing it to him like a basketball.

Once Lance finished his handiwork, Keith just sat there chewing his hand while everyone else cooed, unsure what to do with all the attention. The onesie buttoned up all the way, the top most buttons hidden by his little double chin, and reached down to his toes which were covered like footie pajamas.

“We do need to feed him, right?” Pidge asked, earning strange looks from everyone else. She shrugged. “What? It’s a legitimate question.”

That evening, it seemed as if everything was going smoothly. Shiro, now officially deemed the ‘baby whisperer’ in addition to ‘space dad,’ managed to get Keith to fall asleep in his arms, placing him in the nursery crib without any incident. 

They decided to rotate the baby monitor every night, and Lance was given the duty of the first night given his experience. Their rooms weren’t far from the nursery, but not close enough to wake up from the crying. Hence Lance was the only one who was woken by Keith’s cries through the monitor, not thirty minutes after he had fallen asleep. 

Lance jumped out of bed and ran through the halls in his lion slippers. 

“Hey, buddy.” Lance mumbled as the door to the nursery slid open, Keith’s cries now much louder in volume. He hurried to the crib, reaching down and lifting Keith into his arms.

“That’s it, it’s okay.” Lance rocked him side to side as he whimpered, his lower lip quivering. “What’s wrong? You just ate.” He quickly checked the diaper, but it was perfectly clean. 

Lance huffed, pulling a hand over his face. This would be quite the night.

He rocked the baby until his eyes fluttered closed, then carefully placed him back in the crib. However, the moment Lance started to tiptoe towards the door, the crying started again.

Lance darted back to the crib, looking over the edge. “Hey, hey, what–” 

The crying stopped.

“Huh.” Lance said, lifting an eyebrow. Once more, he started to inch away from the crib. The moment he was out of view, Keith started to cry. 

Lance moved back to the crib, and the crying stopped once again. 

It was then that his heart broke.

“You don’t want to be alone, do you?” 

Keith said nothing, just stared and kicked his legs, as if he waiting for Lance to make his decision. Leave, or stay.

“Ugh, if only adult you were this articulate.” Lance said, reaching down to pull him out of the crib. Honestly, he had hated the idea of Keith sleeping in this nursery by himself the moment Shiro brought it up. Lance knew it was standard parenting procedure, but something in him couldn’t bear it. Maybe it was because he knew Keith, the adult Keith. The one who, despite donning the persona of the lone-wolf, secretly feared being left alone. 

Lance had sensed it early on, managing to see past some of Keith’s defenses. He wanted nothing more than to reach out, let his teammate know he was not alone, that he had friends, a family that would never purposely leave him. 

But until now, he hadn’t known how. 

It was easy, in that moment, for Lance to pour his care out without fear of recoil. But that was only because Keith was currently a six month old baby, unable to do anything but trust his caretakers.

Lance wondered if he’d still be brave enough to care like this, once Keith was back to himself.

“Alright mini mullet, let’s get to bed.”

Lance held Keith tight to his chest and carried him back to his room, propping his pillows up so that he could sit back against the headboard, baby sound asleep on his chest. There wasn’t a single peep out of Keith for the rest of the night.

* * *

“Guy’s Keith’s missing!”

“WHAT!”

“Oh, wait, never mind. I found him.”

There was a click and a flash as Pidge snapped a photo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with adorable art of Baby Keith and Lance snuggles! [Here on my Tumblr](https://knittyninja.tumblr.com/post/190739687608/precious-cargo-chapter-1-ninjawrites)


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, the team had fallen into a rhythm. They rotated play time, feedings and diaper changes, while Lance, Hunk and Shiro were on night duty, as they had the most success keeping Keith asleep. _It’s because we’re the cuddliest._ Hunk had said.

Unfortunately, this meant little time for training and other official Voltron duties. Just because they weren’t on active duty, didn’t mean there weren’t things to get done.

Today while Keith napped, the paladins decided to fit in some badly needed combat training. Shiro had volunteered to take monitor duty, wanting the rest of the team to catch up on hand to hand. However, he was so busy caring for Keith the past few days he had forgotten a previously scheduled meeting with the Blade of Marmora Leader, Kolivan. 

It’s okay, I can do this, Shiro thought. They needed updates on the alliance. Keith hadn’t had problems sleeping through his naps lately, given that they usually were taken in the arms of one of the paladins. One time in the crib shouldn’t be a problem.

Halfway through the meeting, Shiro stiffened at the sound of crying coming through the monitor.

Kolivan, who sat across the table of the empty meeting room, lifted a brow and cocked his head, his left ear twitching slightly. “Is that…an infant?”

Shiro’s cheeks reddened as he stood up from his seat, mumbling apologies. “I’m sorry, please–please excuse me for one moment.” He fast-walked quickly out the door of the meeting room and turned a corner.

Kolivan, curious as to why the paladins have a child on board, followed a few moments after. If his knowledge of human aging was correct, only one was at the psychological level of maturity required for reproducing.

He stopped in the doorway of the nursery, watching as the black paladin lifted the crying human out of the crib. He held him to his chest, rocking back and forth to no avail as the child continued to cry. 

“You have a son?” Kolivan asked.

Shiro turned around eyes wide, not realizing the galra had been standing there. “What? Oh, no, he’s...” Shiro hesitated. “This is...Keith.”

Kolivan’s brows lifted. “The red paladin?”

“Yes.” He said with slight embarassment. “On our last mission he encountered a temporal fissure. Coran say’s it’s temporary but, we’ve been adapting the best we can.”

“I see.” Kolivan stepped forward and eyed Keith curiously, as the kit continued to scream, tears pouring down his reddened cheeks. He held out his hands. “May I?.”

Shiro, who was willing to try anything at this point, handed the baby to the large galra, who could almost entirely fit the child in his hand.

Kolivan lifted him to his chest and began the same rocking pattern Shiro had, only this time, a low rumbling sound emanated from his chest, almost like a purr. Not long after, Keith’s screaming faded to a low whimper. His eyes slowly fluttered to a close as he nuzzled into Kolivan’s chest, his stubby fingers clinging to the fabric of the blade’s uniform.

Shiro blinked in shock. “You’re a miracle worker.” He breathes in relief.

“I do not believe humans are able to create the proper sound, but a low hum may work similarly. It is a technique often used by galran mothers on their kits.”

“Thank you.” Shiro said, pulling his human hand over his face. “Sometimes I forget how significantly that side affects his nature. Part of me wishes I would’ve known back when I took him under my wing at the Garrison, could’ve help him deal with it better.”

“Galra blood is strong. I cannot fathom how difficult it was for him to mature without knowledge of his heritage.” Kolivan shifted Keith up to his shoulder, closer to the crook of his neck. “Though it seems you have already helped the kit a great deal. I now understand why K–, his mother, chose for him to stay on Earth. Without the ability to blend in, he would have never survived in the empire as a half-breed.”

Shiro was quiet for a moment. “Well, life on Earth was still incredibly difficult for him. He struggled as the outcast nonetheless.” He looked up at Keith, who seemed even smaller and more delicate curled up into the Kolivan’s neck. Half of him thought to ask about the blade’s slip, as tired as he was he hadn’t missed it, until he was caught off guard by another faint sound.

“He’s purring back.” A helpless smile lifted on Shiro’s cheeks as he stood up, listening closer and placing a hand on the baby’s back, feeling the slight vibration. Kolivan took the opportunity to hand Keith back to Shiro, and the comforting sound continued against Shiro’s chest. 

“I’m glad to be of assistance.” Kolivan nodded. “But I am afraid I must end our meeting here.”

Shiro nodded back, not able to do much else without waking Keith. “I understand. I apologize for the interruption.”

“No need. We shall schedule at more convenient time.” The galra turned his back to leave, then paused in the doorway. “If he becomes unsettled again…try singing.”

“Is that another galran mother’s trick?” Shiro smiled. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s universal.”

Kolivan hummed. “Something like that.” Then he turned down the hall, out of sight.

* * *

Shiro walked into the control room, just as the paladins came in from their training sessions.

“...Coran, is there any information in the castle database regarding infant Galra?” He asked.

Coran’s face lit up. “Certainly! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?” The older man turned to sift through various files on the displays.

“Oh my god...is he purring?” Pidge asked, eyes wide.

Hunk sniffled. “He’s so cute...I think I’m going to cry.”

* * *

Allura held Keith hesitantly by the underarms in front of her. “Is this right?” She asked the others with more of a grimace than a smile. Keith looked just as unsure as she felt.

“He’s a baby, not a cat.” Lance deadpanned, adjusting her grip so that she held him close to her chest. “Like this. There you go!”

Allura started to bounce on her heels awkwardly, like she’d seen some of the others do. “I’m not so sure this is the best decision.”

“We’ll only be at the space mall for a varga or so. He’s been fed and changed, so you should be okay.” Shiro said, resting a hand on Allura’s shoulder. “Coran will be in the control room if you need him.”

“Aabbbth—“ Baby Keith blew bubbles out of his mouth as he grabbed for Allura’s hair. She winced as he yanked.

“I’m afraid I’m not—OW—sufficiently trained for this. I am no Altean governess.”

“Well good, cause he’s not Altean. Bye!” Pidge blurted. The next thing she knew the paladins were hot on their heels out the door, clearly anticipating the break from babysitting.

“W-Wait…oh dear.” Allura mumbled as the door to the lounge slid shut. She held Keith in front of her and stared at him as he gnawed on the hair in his fist. “We’re on our own aren’t we.” She looked around, from the floor to the couch, unsure what to do next. “How about we go some place more comfortable, hmm?”

The door to her chambers slid open, revealing the large princess size bed. The mice scrambled down from their perch on the dresser to greet her.

“Well hello!” She smiled as she looked down at the mice. “We have a visitor today!” She turned Keith so he could see the mice, two of whom climbed up her dress to her shoulder. Keith let out an excited squeal.

“Now, what shall we do?” She sauntered over to her bed and sat in the center, mice following behind. She set Keith down in a sitting position in front of her, and carefully released both hands, drawing them back slowly.

He wobbled a bit, but seemed stable.

Allura’s face lit up. “See! This isn’t so—“ she leaned forward quickly as Keith toppled to the side, face planting into the mattress. A sense of panic shot through her before she realized Keith was smiling, then she helped him roll over onto his back letting out a sigh of relief. “Adult you seems to have much better balance.” She laughed. “Though I’m afraid he is not as adorable.”

Allura looked down at the tiny human baby in front of her. It amazed her sometimes how much humans looked like Alteans; aside from the marks and the ears, they were nearly identical. It was not unlikely that they share a common ancestor. But it was unnerving sometimes, and a little overwhelming. Her team felt so much like family that she would forget hers were wiped out long ago, only to be reminded again and again.

She took Keith’s hands in hers, feeling how soft and delicate his little fingers were. She had never really thought about having children of her own before. It had always been assumed, as with anyone who would inherit the throne, but she had pushed it to the back of her mind for later. Such things seemed unimportant, especially in the midst of a brewing war.

Allura huffed. _Why was it that simply holding a baby made one think of such things?_ She thought. They were still in the midst of a war. She didn’t have time to dream.

Keith kicked his feet, hands reaching upwards once more to grab Allura’s hair, but she moved out of the way just in time. “Oh no you don’t, that hurts!”

Keith merely giggled at her suffering, and she pursed her lips. As hard as she tried however, she couldn’t keep from letting out a laugh, her pout morphing into a smile. Something about seeing the red paladin so happy made her insides melt. At this very moment, she would gladly fight off a hundred Galra soldiers by hand if it meant keeping him safe. 

She wondered if that’s what being a mother felt like.

A vague memory of her own mother flickered in the forefront of her mind. It wasn’t much, just a feeling of safety, the sensation of being curled on her side against her mother’s chest in this very bed. 

Not knowing what else to do, she laid herself on the bed besides the baby, who rolled to face her. She scrunched her nose as Keith pawed at her face. 

Allura smiled, grabbing hold of his tiny hand and gently touching her forehead to his.

* * *

“Princess, are you–” Coran halted as he stepped into the doorway. He had intended to check up on her, given that she hadn’t seemed to enthusiastic about her babysitting duties. Instead, of a frazzled princess however, the scene before him was heartwarming and peaceful.

Allura lay curled up on the bed with Keith curled against her chest, both sound asleep. The mice had made their own beds nestled on top of them. Coran smiled, glad that the two of them were able to find a moment of peace. He lifted his tablet and snuck a photo, knowing the green paladin would want a record of this moment.

* * *

Shiro, Pidge and Hunk were playing a game of cards in the lounge when their game was interrupted by distant screaming.

The yelling gradually became louder until Lance barged into the room with Keith at arms length, his face panicked.

“Someone help me! He’s going Galra!”

Tiny Keith was red-faced and screaming, but when he opened his eyes, they were narrowed and yellow.

“What’d you do?!” Pidge glared laser eyes at Lance.

“I–I may have taken his binky away too soon.” Lance said sheepishly. “I gave it back but he won’t stop!”

“Wait, let me try something.” Shiro got up and reached forward, cradling Keith in his arms. He then began to sing, low and sweet.

By the end of the short lullaby, the tears had turned into a low whimper. When his eyes fluttered open they were round and shining. 

"There he is." Shiro smiled and wiped the wetness from Keith's reddened chubby cheeks. 

“Like, I said.” Lance brushed a hand through his hair with relief. “The Keith whisperer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have this headcanon that Krolia had a hard time after leaving her family and returning to the Blade. When she would break down, Kolivan was there helping her through it, listening as she told stories about her child, how small he was, and how she would sing to him when he couldn't sleep. I'd like to think Kolivan remembered each and every one.


	3. Chapter 3

Pidge walked into the Lion’s hangar fully expecting to find a quiet workplace. What she didn’t expect, was to find a dancing paladin with a baby in his arms.

“Adoop adoop ado do do–” Hunk sang while bouncing Keith on his hip, traveling in circles around the workspace, one hand in his like they were ballroom dancing. Keith let out a bubbly squeal with each movement, Hunk’s face mirroring the same expression. He turned with a flourish and noticed Pidge standing with her laptop in the doorway.

“Oh hey Pidge!” Hunk smiled, wiggling Keith’s arm so that he waved. “Keith and I are having a blast right now aren’t we bro?” 

Pidge cocked her head. “Isn’t he supposed to be taking a nap?”

“I tried but he just wouldn’t fall asleep, so I thought I’d try to tire him out. Don’t tell Shiro.” Hunk placed him tummy down on the makeshift pillow nest he had set up in the middle of the workspace. Keith lifted his head, blinking up at Pidge. “I do need to check up on Yellow though, do you think you could watch him for a bit? I’ll cover some of your next shift.”

Pidge huffed. She had hoped to get some work done on her Lion’s stealth upgrades, but the innocent puppy dog eyes Keith was giving her was not helpful to her productivity.

“Sure, go ahead.” She waved Hunk off as she sat besides Keith in the pillow nest. It was surprisingly comfortable, and she made note to herself to make this a semi-permanent addition to her workspace. She opened her laptop and began typing, every so often glancing over to Keith rolling back and forth beside her, entertaining himself with his own foot. Hopefully he would fall asleep on his own.

However, as her focus started to set in, she didn’t notice how his eyes caught on to a shiny object laying a few feet away underneath the desk. Not yet able to crawl, he pulled himself forward in an army crawl off the edge of the blanket.

A tiny giggle snapped Pidge out of her focus, but when she glanced down besides her, Keith was gone. She panicked and looked around, finding him just within arms reach of the ion welder on the floor, his tiny hand reaching out to grab the conductive tip. 

“Shit!” Pidge practically threw her laptop off her lap and lunged over to grab Keith just in time. She let out a breath of relief as she lifted him into her lap. They both stared at each other, eyes wide with shock, until suddenly Keith’s bottom lip began to quiver and tears began to well up in his eyes.

“Oh no, Keith, I’m sorry.” Pidge pulled him in to hold him tight to her chest. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But ion welders are dangero–” Her word caught in her throat as she held back her own tears, burying her face into Keith’s hair. She chided herself for not paying enough attention; Keith could’ve been shocked, or worse. She glanced over to the object, reaching to pick it off the ground and place it back onto the desk. 

“Sssh, I’m sorry, it’s okay.” She gently rocked side to side to calm him. It was a soft cry, he was startled more than anything else. She pulled back to look at his face, wiping the wetness off his nose with the bottom of her shirt. 

Man did he give her a heart attack. She tried not to think of what would’ve happened; she didn’t think she could lose another brother. She thought about Keith’s smile, his laugh, his annoyed pout when Pidge would tell him he brought the wrong tool while he helped her build her latest project. Now that she thought about it, he was the actually the last one using the ion welder before the whole de-aging debacle.

“I miss you Keith.” Pidge sniffled, looking down at the tiny baby she held in her arms. “I know you’re right here but...it’s not the same.”

It was almost like he’d understood her, the way his eyes turned curious. He grabbed at her nose, making her laugh as she adjusted her glasses.

“Hehe, thanks Keith.” She sighed. “Now hurry up and change back will you?”

* * *

The team sat in the lounge during Keith’s allotted nap time, each thankful for the time to rest and relax after so many days. Suddenly, a strange sound came through the baby monitor.

_Thunk._

_Crash._

“GAaah! Shit!"

The six of them jumped in their own seats and stared at each other. Simultaneously, they bolted into the hallway, practically sprinting to the nursery. Lance got there first, sliding to a stop past the doorway and scrambling in, Shiro right behind him.

“What the hell!” Keith’s voice was angry and his face was plastered with confusion. The outer bars of the Altean crib had broken off in one piece, now underneath Keith on the floor. The baby blanket (thankfully) lay over his hips, as the onesie apparently hadn’t grown with the rest of him.

“Keith! Buddy! You’re back!” Lance shouted as Shiro helped him up off the floor. Keith groaned, holding the back of his head in one hand and the baby blanket around his waist like a towel. The others burst into the room and Keith's face reddened, suddenly feeling very exposed.

“WHat-” His voice cracked. “What happened?” Keith stared at the room around him, his brows furrowed. “Is-is this a nursery?”

“It’s a long story.” Shiro said nervously, holding him by the shoulder. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?” 

“Uh–I feel fine, um…my butt’s a little sore from the floor but, I think I’m okay.” Keith scratched his head. “Um, why am I not wearing clothes?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Shiro turned and nodded to Lance, who ran out of the room to get them.

“Keith! My boy glad to have you back!” Coran said. 

“Thanks? I think? Where did I go?”

“We’ll explain everything later, but I believe our priority is getting him to the med-bay, making sure there are no side effects to the temporal fissure.” Allura gestured for Shiro to guide him out the door.

“Temporal fis–did I time travel or something?” Keith asked. “Last thing I remember is being on the mission with Hunk, and then it’s kind of fuzzy, like a dream.”

“I think it was more like time traveled through you…” Pidge said. “But don’t worry, I can show you.”

* * *

Keith swiped through the various photo’s Pidge had compiled on her tablet. Now fully dressed, he sat on the bed in the med-bay while Coran scanned his vitals.

“A whole week?” He asked, his eyes still wide and trained on the tablet. There was one of Lance sitting beside him on the floor of the lounge, and another of him being held by Shiro. He grimaced at one with spit-up down his chin, a panicked Hunk in the back ground.

“Yup.” Hunk said. “I called off the mission and brought you back to the castle. Man I was totally freaking out! But we worked together to take care of you, even rotating shifts. It was pretty rough at times, but dude, you were one cute baby.”

“Huh.” Keith mumbled to himself, still staring at the screen. He stopped on one with only him, laying on his stomach in the lounge, staring into the camera as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Is everything alright?” Allura asked, sitting on the bed beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, he leaned into the touch.

“Yeah, um…I guess, I’ve just never seen my baby pictures before.”

The room became silent as each of them took in his words. Lance was the first to speak.

“Well, at least now you have some? Pidge was obsessed with taking pictures.”

She adjusted her glasses proudly. “There was no way I was going to pass up data collection on such a rare scientific anomaly as this.” She smiled. “And yeah, you’re also just a really cute baby.”

Keith looked up to see all the genuine smiles on his team’s faces. “Wow, I don’t know what to say but…thank you guys. I can’t imagine that was easy.”

“Keith, we’re a family. We care for each other, that’s what we do.” He sat beside Keith on his other side, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “We care about you.” Without hesitation, Keith leaned into him, nestling his head into Shiro’s shoulder, and took a deep breath.

“Thanks Shiro.”

Shiro ran his hands through Keith’s hair, a newly formed habit he realized to himself, as Keith’s eyes fluttered closed.

“Mmm tired.” He mumbled.

“Alright it seems we should let Number Four get his rest.” Coran said, setting his tablet down and shooing them out of the med-bay. “Everybody out.” Keith sat up, allowing Shiro to stand up and head to the door.

For a fraction of a second, Lance saw a familiar expression on Keith’s face as he watched Shiro leave, one that Lance had only recently come to recognize. 

Lance turned to follow the others out the door, but before he crossed the threshold, he hesitated. He turned to face his teammate, rubbing a nervous hand on the back of his neck, his other hand stuffed in his jacket pocket.

“Hey, um…I know you need your rest and all, but, the med-bay’s kind of dreary and lonely, and uh, I actually tend to get less sleep when I’m lonely, and well…do you want me to stay here? With you?”

Lance braced himself for a brushoff, but when he looked up at Keith, the red paladin’s face was more surprised than anything.

“Um, yeah.” Keith answered awkwardly. “That would actually be…nice of you.” He shifted sideways on the bed to make room and curled up on his side, facing the opposite direction.

“Cool.” Lance gave a slight smile and walked over to sit on the side of the bed. “Is this alright? I can take the chair if you want.”

“No.” Keith mumbled. “You’re fine.”

“Okay.” Lance laid back on his half of the pillow, his hands folded behind his head, ankles crossed. He closed his eyes, letting himself drift off into the best sleep he’d had in over a week.

* * *

Lance woke up to a heavy weight on his chest and an emanating warmth beside him. His eyes fluttered open to see a sleeping Keith curled up into his side underneath his arm, head laid on his chest. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile as he felt the low rumble against his chest, deeper than it had been before. 

“Sweet dreams mullet.” 

_I hope you won’t feel lonely anymore._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It was a blast to work on and kind of became a place for all my baby Keith headcanons.  
> If you're interested, I based the photo Keith was looking at off of [ this art ](https://knittyninja.tumblr.com/post/186218168703/foxyjoy-art-baby-keith-commission) by foxyjoy on tumblr.
> 
> Leave a comment! I would love to see what you think of the story. What was your favorite part?


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